A High Old Time With A High Iq Mensa Members Just Want To Have Fun

April 22, 1986|by LORI GROLLER, The Morning Call

Tell someone your IQ ranks in the top 2 percent of the population and chances are you will face one of two reactions, neither very positive in nature. Some people might cower from further interaction, thinking themselves overmatched. Others, not to be outdone, might sniff at your accomplishment and boast of equal, if not higher intellectual achievements.

But tell Ralph and Elissa Rudolph of your superior score and they'll welcome you with open arms. Both are members of Mensa, the international society for people with extraordinarily high IQs.

The only requirement for membership in this club is that you score at the 98th percentile or above on any standardized intelligence test. If that sounds a little out of your realm, someone quick with math can tell you that the top two percent of the population works out to be one inevery 50 people, so a few of the folks you run into each day probably could become members, if they wanted to. HOW DID YOU DO? If you answered at least six questions correctly within a reasonable amount of time, according to Mensa, you've done fairly well. If interested, Mensa recommends you send for its preliminary test which you can take at home. Although the preliminary test does not qualify for Mensa membership, many individuals have stated that taking the preliminary test helped them successfully prepare for Mensa's supervised qualifying test.

Participants must score at or above the 98th percentile on the supervisedtest to be eligible for membership in Mensa. Admission to Mensa can also be obtained by submitting evidence of previous intelligence test scores. A list of the qualifying scores for other intelligence tests, as well as Mensa preliminary tests, can be obtained by writing: American Mensa Ltd., 2626 E. 14th St., Brooklyn, NY 11235. (There is a $9 fee for the preliminary test.)

Although there are close to 70,000 registered Mensans worldwide, only about 10 percent are active members. According to the Rudolphs, many pay the annual $35 dues just to say they belong to such an elite corps. Being tagged the "genius club" is nothing to scoff at, but Ralph fears the connotations surrounding such labels create a one-sided image of Mensa that may not be entirely true.

"People expect it (Mensa) to be much more than it really is," he said. "They expect it to be really serious, but it's a social outlet more than anything, and it works well as that."

The playful side of Mensa got a bit of national exposure last year when a few women members decided to show off their beauty instead of their brains by posing in an issue of Playboy. "Supposedly a group of Mensa guys are trying to get into Playgirl, but I haven't heard anything definite on that yet," chuckled Elissa.

Locally, the Rudolphs having been trying to generate more Mensa interest among the Lehigh Valley's masterminds. When they moved here last fall, the couple expected to find an active Mensa chapter like the one they left in Pittsburgh. Instead, they discovered Mensa activities in this area were sporadic at best.

Part of the problem lies in the way the national Mensa organization assigns charters. Officially, the Lehigh Valley is part of Delaware Valley Mensa (DVM), which extends as far as Scranton, but uses Philadelphia as its home base. Officers, recruitment efforts and group activities have naturally centered around the City of Brotherly Love, but Ralph, who is also first vice chairman of the national organization, says there is nothing stopping the Lehigh Valley from forming its own subgroup.

"The leadership usually picks the mood of the group," he explained. "DVM is more conservative. The leadership didn't support or publicize the social function as much. In fact, they sort of discouraged that type of thing."

"I always thought the further East you came, people would be more receptive to new, creative things, but I found the opposite, at least in this area," continued Elissa. "It could be because the ancestry (the Dutch and Moravians) were more religious and conservative. Pittsburgh is more of a melting pot."

"Pittsburgh has more of a mill-town mentality, rather than white collar," said Ralph. "They like to party more. Locally, people are very well-behaved, more sophisticated."

"But I don't think you have to trade sophistication to have fun," added Elissa.

And the Rudolphs are out to prove just that. Every month they host a social night, titled "Mensanity," at their Fountain Hill home. After an initial lecture/discussion, games and casual conversation highlight the evening.

Many Mensans have a passion for puzzles and board games - like Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Risk, just to name a few. "Somehow games seem to go along with intelligence," replied Ralph. "I don't know if they help create intelligence or if the interest is because of intelligence.' '

"Intellectual fun is what Mensans like best," added Elissa. "It's your mind against the game. Everyday life doesn't necessarily offer you the same type of challenges."